A background. the last several years, improved control of blood glucose for patients in the hospital using the G+ algorithm created by Aseko, Inc. for patients on intravenous insulin injection has been shown to significantly improve glycemic control. Improved glycemic control is achieved when the patient does not experience hypoglycemia (too low a blood glucose) or hyperglycemia (too high a blood glucose). Blood glucose levels below 70 mg/dl are considered to be a condition of hypoglycemia and fasting blood glucose levels above 140 mg/dl are considered to be a condition of hyperglycemia. The G+ algorithm is used by hospitals to prevent both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. This is accomplished in the following way: first, the nurse would measure the patient's blood glucose and place that value and the patient's name at a computer station where the nurse is situated; second other pertinent information about the patient (for example, hemoglobin A1C, height, weight, the number of grams of carbohydrates at a recently eaten meal or a meal about to be eaten, etc.) would be provided from that nurse's station computer; third, the hospital's central computer would calculate the dose of insulin to be delivered to that particular patient to maintain normal blood glucose; and fourth, the nurse would administer that number of units of insulin to that patient. Experience over several years has shown that this method has achieved excellent results in reducing the rates of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia experienced by patients being treated in a hospital.
More recently, GlyTec, LLC. (a subsidiary of Aseko, Inc.) has created an algorithm for improved glycemic control for those patients on subcutaneously injected insulin. By the use of this algorithm, patients having subcutaneously administered insulin either within the hospital or outside the hospital can improve their glycemic control. It would be highly advantageous for patients away from the hospital to experience the improved glycemic control that has been demonstrated using the G+ algorithm at those hospitals where that system is available.
There have recently been several different apps on smart phones that can provide information for the diabetic patient. For example, an app is now available that provides a listing of the specific numbers of carbohydrates for different foods that can be eaten by the diabetic patient to better judge how many units of insulin that are needed to improve that patient's glycemic control after ingesting that number of grams of carbohydrates. However, there is no app currently available that shows a complete listing of foods from which a diabetic patient could select an abbreviated list of those particular foods that that patient would have in his or her normal diet. Still further, no app exists that has in its memory the number of grams of carbohydrates for those specific foods that that specific patient would select. Still further, there is no remote computer system that can communicate with a patient's smart phone which remote computer would have in its memory the number of grams of carbohydrates for an extensive selection of foods from which a specific patient could select a subset of such foods. Still further there is no app that indicates the quantity of a specific food that the patient has eaten or is about to eat. Still further, there is no app available on any smart phone that could make contact with a remote computer system to indicate other conditions experienced by a diabetic patient that affect that patient's need for insulin. For example, there is no existing app that indicates if the patient is undergoing exercise or the severity of such exercise, no app to indicate having significant emotional distress, no app that states if the patient is having a menstrual period, or is about to go to sleep or has just woken up from sleeping, or having a fever of a specific temperature, or any other condition that could affect a specific patient's need for insulin. There is also no remote computer system that can keep a record of the past experiences of a specific patient as to that patient's need for insulin depending on a significant number of factors such as those described above and for that computer to suggest to that patient, based on past experience, the optimum dose of insulin to be subcutaneously injected when that information is requested by a specific app in that patient's smart phone. There is also no smart phone that has been programmed to have the same capability as a remote computer system to record all past patient inputs so as to inform the patient as to the optimum number of units of insulin to inject based upon that patient's past history. Other apps do exist that can keep record of blood glucose levels and insulin usage and share this information with a patient's health care team, including IBGStar Diabetes Manager, which is used in conjunction with a specific blood glucose meter. However, this app does not calculate for the patient the optimum insulin dosage based on that patient's current body chemistry and personal history of insulin usage under similar circumstance, and does not give the patient freedom to use whichever glucose meter he or she prefers.